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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. row — to paddle
  3. staff — employees
  4. wound — an injury
  5. staff — a stick
  6. rule — a law
  7. kick — in football
  8. land — ground
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. rule — government
  11. land — a country
  12. wound — an injury
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. cell — in biology
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. row — a line
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. land — to come down
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cell — a phone
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. rule — to rule out

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com